"Take Time for Others" - Living Free - June 24, 2010

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

Thoughts for Today

Hurry sickness can affect every area of our lives—including the people we care most about. When we are so busy that it's hurry, hurry, hurry all the time, we often hurt those we love, especially our family. By putting our to-do lists above their needs. By neglecting to spend quality time with them. By being so wrapped up in what we are doing that we are not sensitive to what is happening in their lives.

The pursuits that keep us so busy might be worthwhile. Serving as a parent officer for our child's team or club. Volunteering at church. Serving at a community kitchen. Helping our neighbors. Being active in a ministry. Even if our motives for getting involved in all the busyness were good, sometimes we get so wrapped up in the doing that we begin to suffer from hurry sickness. And one of the first things that happens is distorted priorities-and that affects our relationships.

They should understand, we think. After all, I'm doing this for them (or for a good cause). But our most important cause is right there at home. When our activities, no matter how worthwhile they seem, begin to have negative effects on our spouse or our children, it's time to reevaluate.

Consider this…

Hurry sickness can sneak up on us. We are scurrying along taking care of all we've committed to do, getting busier and busier. Then something is said or done in our family that shocks us into realizing that something is wrong. Without meaning to, we have allowed all these good pursuits to interfere with our relationship with God—and with those we care about the most.

It's time to ask our family how they feel. It's time to seek God's point of view—and His guidance. It's time to get some of the hurry out of our life and focus on what counts the most.

Prayer

Father, I didn't mean for this to happen. I just kept getting involved in one activity after another. I wanted to do good. But I realize now that I became so focused on what I wanted to do, that I took my focus off You and my family. Please forgive me. Help me to find my way back to doing things Your way. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from…

Authentic Living in an Artificial World by Dr. Mike Chapman. This 45-minute group study gives understanding about what it means to be real. The facilitator's guide includes reproducible group member study sheets and an audio CD designed to help facilitators prepare for each session. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a study for individuals or couples.

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